Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton stopped in Las Vegas Tuesday and laid out her immigration agenda.
Clinton spoke before a supportive gathering at Rancho High School.
“The American people support comprehensive immigration reform not just because it is the right thing to do, and it is, but because they know it strengthens families, strengthens our economy and strengthens our country,” Clinton said “That’s why we can’t wait any longer. We can’t wait any longer for a path to full and equal citizenship.”
Her stance on a pathway to citizenship is in sharp contrast to many Republicans who have opposed a comprehensive immigration bill because of what they see as amnesty for people who entered the country illegally.
NPR White House Correspondent Tamara Keith told KNPR’s State of Nevada that Clinton is using the issue as a wedge and a way to get other candidates from both parties to take a stand.
“She has made the calculation that taking this stand on immigration, to the left of President Barack Obama, she can in some ways bate the Republican field into taking positions on immigration that will put them at odds with the Latino electorate,” Keith said.
NPR's Tamara Keith says Clinton is telling Democrats that she is taking a defining role in immigration debate.
“She is signaling to other Democratic candidates, who are running to her left, that there is not going to be a lot of real estate over there when it comes to immigration,” Keith said.
During her speech, Clinton said not a single Republican "is clearly and consistently" supporting a pathway to citizenship.
The stalled efforts for immigration reform has frustrated immigration activists, especially those in the Latino community.
Jesus Marquez is a Republican, a small business owner and Latino outreach director for St. Senator Becky Harris, R-Las Vegas.
He said there are Republican candidates, Jeb Bush for instance, who are advocating immigration reform, while not advocating for a path to citizenship.
Jesus Marquez is in favor of a legislated path to citizenship, though he agrees with many Republican elected officials who argue that immigration reform is better legislated in pieces, rather than through one all-encompassing law.
Marquez also thinks Republican candidates must address it in some way.
“(Republicans) should (advocate) for some sort of immigration reform and they should have a strong stand on (the issue).” Marquez said.
Clinton told the audience that not only would she support President Obama’s executive order, but she would go even further.
According to a recent study from PEW Research Center, registered Latino voters do support immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship by an overwhelming majority.
NPR's Keith said Clinton chose to make her announcement in Nevada because of the state's symbolism and because there's a significant Latino population here.
“This is a state with a growing and significant Latino electorate. This is a state where if Latino voters don’t show up Democrats lose. Just ask the Democrats that were running in 2014,” she said.
Leo Murrieta, executive director of the Center for Latino Prosperity, said even though jobs, the economy, and education rank higher than immigration as priorities for Latino voters, immigration is related to all of those issues.
“The unique part of the Latino voter and the Latino electorate is that immigration actually has a way of interlacing itself into each of those issues,” Murrieta said.
According to Latino Decisions, a national think tank, 63 percent of Latino voters know someone, either a family member or a friend, who is undocumented and 39 percent know someone who is in deportation proceedings.
“I think that every single candidate needs to get right on this issue,” Murrieta said.
Murrieta said the Latino share of the electorate in Nevada is growing fast.
“I do think Latino voters will be most receptive to any candidate who believes an earned pathway to citizenship that keeps families together that fixes our broken immigration system,” Murrietta said.
He believes Clinton taking the stand she did on immigration will force other candidates to at least talk about the issue.
From NPR: Clinton Tells 'Dreamers' She Backs Path To Citizenship
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
Tamara Keith, White House correspondant, National Public Radio; Leo Murrieta, executive director, Center for Latino Prosperity, J esus Marquez, Latino outreach director, St. Senator Becky Harris, R-Las Vegas